The Big N5 of the Week - Brave LEGO ninja soldiers know the Force

It has happened. We are all scavenging survivors of the apocalypse: never to know the life we had before and forced to eat each other once our Twinkie supply has run out. ...Wait...what's that you say? We're still alive? Well, I guess this would be a good time to reflect on what happened in the past week, before we resort to cannibalism...because you're looking mighty tasty... 

5. Swords and Soldiers coming to 3DS eShop. 
The WiiWare cult hit Swords and Soldiers is coming to the 3DS eShop next year. No word on a release date, but a Demo was hinted for next year. New DLC was also confirmed for all you viking mercenaries who want more post-game content. 

4. Senran Kagura Burst Localization teased? 
This busty ninja 3DS game from Japan (courtesy of XSeed) might be getting a Western eShop release. Producer Kenichiro Takaki, hoped to bring the game westside in downloadable format. The game is already on the Japanese eShop, and while it may never reach the West, Takaki had this to say: "I'll wrap the world in happy bobs next year." Well, that could mean many things, but it still gives hope for future localizations.

3. LEGO Zelda was almost a reality.
Sadly it was debunked at the last second in favor of Back to the Future. It was so close too. This would've been incredible as an actual game, but now we at least get to cheer on LEGO Mario or LEGO Metroid in the future. (Come on, make it happen!)



 

 2. Animal Crossing New Leaf outsells in Japan (Over 2 Million copies!!) 
Every copy sold in just one week: both retail and in pre-paid cards. New Leaf outsold more in Japan in one week than any other game released during or prior to it's launch, also boosting 3DS sells, outselling the Vita 46 to 1. Game sales now reach just over 2 million copies, both physical and digital. Judging by the size of Japan, I'd say literally everyone with a 3DS has AC: NL- or five 3DS's each, yeah that could be it. I can't wait to see how well it does worldwide! 

1. NP spiritual successor Nintendo Force Magazine! 
With the closing of Nintendo Power magazine, came the loss of a great childhood memory to all of us. But luckily for you, it is not ending: the internet's most faithful Nintendo fans are coming together to bring you the spiritual successor to the magazine, called Nintendo Force. You can view their home page to learn more of this exciting new project. May the Force be with you.

In other news, a new Mother (Earthbound) re-release is in the making, and GameFreak will reveal big news concerning Pokemon on January 8th! We'll be sure to bring more info once we learn more! 

Happy New Year, Everyone!  

~EggBeatr8

The Big N5 of the Week - Brave LEGO ninja soldiers know the Force

The Big N5 of the Week - Over Ruled!

Hello everyone! Welcome to another edition of the Big N5; where we bring you the best news of the week while Japan is busy whipping fingers screaming "Objection!" to men wearing top hats! 

5. Nintendo reveals the crazy beta prototypes for the Wii U Gamepad. 
What you're staring at is not GE microwave cover from the 80's, but the actual first prototype for the Wii U Gamepad. It looks...futuristic? A Wii Zapper with a video screen was also considered for Nintendo Land. You can read and see all the craziness in the Iwata Asks Interview link I just provided. 

4. One man sets out to make a full 3D first-person Pokemon game.
It might seem too impressive (especially incorporating a Minecraft Pokemon mod in it's design), but this is shaping up to be an interesting fan made game - made by one person nonetheless. The music needs some work, but for a game that's going to be free, you got to give the guy a nod for trying.

3. Nintendo blocks European gamers from buying 18+ Rated content at certain times of the day. 
What the heck, Nintendo? The blocking is due to parental controls, which Nintendo stated further with this statement: "We have thus decided to restrict the access to content which is unsuitable to minors (PEGI) to the 11pm - 3am time window." At this time Nintendo assumes that all adults only play games at late nights and early mornings, and won't say whether they'll take down the parental block or not. Hopefully the outcry from angry gamers will put sense into their heads: We need sleep!! 

2. Nintendo Direct: Pikmin 3, bells n' whistles, and delays. 
Last week's Nintendo Direct gave us more images and gameplay videos for Pikmin 3; showcasing the game's beautiful graphics and detailed environments. That's all the Pikmin 3 you'll see for awhile however, since the game has been delayed until Q3 2012. Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon has also been delayed for Q2 2012. Ouch. On a better note, Harmo Knight has been slated for localization in NA and Europe sometime in Spring 2012 on the Nintendo eShop. 2012 is looking to be a good, though late, year for Nintendo gaming. 

1. Capcom releasing Street Fighter X Mega Man for FREE this month! 
Miss your Mega Man fix? We all do, son don't worry. But get ready to control your body, because Capcom is releasing Street Fighter X Mega Man on the PC FOR FREE on December 17th! Granted, it started out as a fan game, but Capcom took it under it's wing and gave it a touch up- and what am I kidding, IT'S FREE. IT'S OFFICIAL. IT'S MEGA MAN. IT'S STREET FIGHTER. IT'S FREE. DO YOU NEED ANY OTHER REASON TO NOT BE EXCITED?!?! Merry Christmas Mega Man! Great to see you back in action!


And Merry Almost-Christmas to all of you! Join us back next week for another installment!
 

The Big N5 of the Week - Over Ruled!

The Big N5 of the Week - Reggie has FURY!

Huge stories for our Big N5 today. Let's see what happened in the world of Nintendo this week: 

5. Pokemon Global Link 2.0.  

After a two week hiatus of site maintenance the Pokemon Global Link is now back up and running, with exciting new features. Pokemon Black and White players can now instantly connect with other players without a Union Room, and use the new XTranseiver and Entralink to play new mini-games with other people from around the world, which boosts prizes and EXP, while increasing the number of people in the Black city/White Forest. And lastly, players can connect to the dream World seamlessly via Wi-fi. Be sure to check it out! 

 

4. Reggie calls out unsatisfied fans. 

Didn't like this year's E3? Reggie has something to say about that: "One of the things that, on one hand, I love and, on the other hand, that troubles me tremendously about not only our fanbase but about the gaming community at large is that, whenever you share information, the perspective is, 'Thank you, but I want more.' 'Thank you, but give me more.' I mean, it is insatiable. And so for years this community has been asking, 'Where's Pikmin?' 'Where's Pikmin?' 'Where's Pikmin?' We give them Pikmin. And then they say, 'What else?' For years, this community have said, 'Damnit Reggie, when you launch, you better launch with a Mario game.' So we launch with a Mario game, and they say, 'So what's more?' I have heard people say, 'You know, you've got these fantastic franchises, beyond what you're doing in Smash Bros., isn't there a way to leverage all these franchises?' So we create Nintendo Land and they say, 'Ho-hum, give me more.' So it's an interesting challenge." Take it however you must, but you have to give him credit for having guts. 

3. Two games coming to 3DS VC every week in July! 

Nintendo hosted a post E3 conference on Nintendo Driect on Friday revealing some juicy new info on 3DS titles. But it wasn't just new titles that getting the spotlight: Nintendo also announced that two VC titles will be released every week for the 3DS, through July 5th to August 1st. The first title will be the classic Legend of Zelda, followed by The Sword of Hope IIand Kirby's Pinball Land the following week, with the next two weeks titles including Tumblepop, Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters and Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 at the rear of the current release list (wait, isn't that three in one week?) Sonic Blast and Sonic Labyrinth from the GamGear are also scheduled for a Summer release, but no specific release dates are given.  Please consider releasing GBA titles next, Nintendo!  

2. Namco-Bandai co-developing the next Smash Bros. 

Nintendo also revealed on Friday that the next Smash Bros. game will be co-developed with Namco-Bandai. Nintendo didn't reveal too much after that, but they did specify that the staff teams that worked on popular franchises Tekken, Tales, and Soul Calibur are the one's in the development working on the new Smash Bros. Will we see characters like Klonoa, Nightmare, or Pac-Man duke it out on the field? Cross your fingers and hope for more info come next E3.  

1. 3DS XL announced! 

And finally, Nintendo revealed the new 3DS iteration: 3DS XL. With a 1.5x bigger screen, it will make your 3DS games come to life like never before. Unfortunately, it does not have a right analog stick and it will not support the current accessory already out in GameStop, but luckily it isn't necessary if you're already used to using one analog stick. The system will cost $200 and will released in Europe on July 28th. NA release date is still TBA. 

Thanks for reading, and join us next week for 5 more reasons to be a Nintendo gamer! 

  

The Big N5 of the Week - Reggie has FURY!

Big N5 of the Week - Guns, Wii U's, and Kirbys Everywhere!

Our new news feature, depicting the top 5 best Nintendo stories from around the web. Updated every Sunday. Is your body ready?

	5. Rumor: Leaked Microsoft document revealed Wii U price tag? An apparent leaked Microsoft document describing the next gen Xbox, also had some stuff to say about the Wii U. The document described that the Wii U will cost $250, and being first in new console train line could "defend [Nintendo's] success in broad gaming segments" and "further erode console differentiation" by matching console hardware specs with PS3 and Xbox360. It was hard to say if the document was fake or legit, even though a $250 price tag is traditional for a Nintendo home console, but with the system being released with a gamepad controller, a $300 price tag would seem the most plausible. Unfortunately, the leaked document was soon taken down, so I can't offer any links.
	4. Jimmy Fallon thought Wii U was just a new Wii.   Yeah...you can watch it here. Thanks for adding more confusion to the already confused casual market that thinks this is just a new Wii accessory, Jimmy. The system needs all the help it can get.
	3. Keldeo Resolution form Revealed.  Teased on Tuesday in a magazine scan, Keldeo's new form was finally revealed this week showing off a more gutsy form of the newest Event Pokemon. According to Serebii Keldeo can only change form in B/W2 in Sangi Town while Terrakion, Virizion, and Coballon are in your party, and when Keldeo knows the move Secret Sword. Like the new form? Hate it? Tell us what you think!
	2. Kirby 20th Anniversary Game Line-up revealed.  Good news for Kirby fans: Kirby's 20th anniversary will not be in vain. The pink puffball's next foray will be a collection of his finest games for the Wii: Kirby's Dream Land (Game Boy) Kirby's Adventure (NES) Kirby's Dream Land 2 (Game Boy) Kirby Super Star (SNES) Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES) Kirby 64 (Nintendo 64), and will feature an on-disc history calender, a compilation CD, and some games will even include bonus content and new levels. It's every fan's dream collection of Kirby games all rolled into one! Happy birthday, Kirby; may your games live on for many, many more anniversaries!
	1. Miyamoto wants to make a FPS for the Wii U?  Source: Kotaku. You heard right. The man behind Mario and Zelda wants to someday make a FPS akin to Doom and Call of Duty for the Wii U. "I actually do kind of want to make a first-person shooter," he says, "but I don't have time." And also went on to specifics as how he'd make a FPS: "Rather than necessarily the question of 'What kind of weapon do I have?' in a first person shooter or 'What kind of effect does that have on an enemy?', I think that the structure of a first-person shooter is something that's very interesting," he said through a translator. "Having that 3D space that in theory you are in and being able to look around and explore that—particularly being able to do that in conjunction with another person—is very interesting." If anything it will not be your typical affair of a FPS, as shown how Miyamoto put his own spin on the RTS genre with Pikmin. Whenever he does decide to make a FPS, or whatever he does with the genre you can be rest assured that it will be like nothing we've played before.

Tune back next Sunday for other Big N5 of the week!

Big N5 of the Week - Guns, Wii U's, and Kirbys Everywhere!

Nintendo Direct announcements!

With the closing of Nintendo Direct's pre-E3 show today, there's been some interesting announcements. One announcement is that the Wii-U is receiving a new traditional controller that looks similar to the Xbox360 controller:

 

The controller will give gamers an alternative control scheme for playing Wii-U games without the touch screen interface.

And if that wasn't enough a new trailer for NSMB2 was revealed at the pre-show. It is compatible with Miiverse (posted above) and new gameplay elements were hinted at in the comments by the Miis on the world map, including a flying squirrel suit and a baby Yoshi that can inflate to carry Mario. Sounds fun to me!

The background elements and world map give off a Super Mario World vibe, and looks a whole lot smoother overall. It's the 3DS version though, the Wii U one will probably be shown at E3.

This is surely the tip of the iceberg, so get your body ready this Tuesday for many more updates, when Nintendo's conference goes live. See you at E3!

Nintendo Direct announcements!

New alternate Legendaries + New Black 2/White2 news!!!

Things just keep getting weirder. 

 

It looks like Kyurem isn't the only Pokemon in Black 2/White 2 getting an alternate make-over: Legendary cloud trio Thundurus, Landurus and Tornadus are getting female alternative forms! (Beautiful aren't they?) You can catch these beauties in the 3DS exclusive Pokemon AR Searcher, which will be released sometime this Summer.

 

And if thought that was all, you've seen nothing yet. Here's more information concerning the new Pokemon games:  

 

-Pokemon Musical replaced by Pokewood; where you can battle Gym leaders from past Pokemon games!  

-Cheren is rumored to be a Gym Leader. 

-New evil team has been rumored. 

 

Whoa! This is shaping to be the best new Pokemon iterations yet!

 

New alternate Legendaries + New Black 2/White2 news!!!

Pokemon Black and White 2 Trailer revealed + new info!

Hey all you Trainers! Here's the new trailer for Pokemon B/W2 as shown on Nintendo Direct yesterday:

 

Never have we seen third Pokemon iterations look so different! For those that couldn't watch the video, here's what you can expect in the months to come (as shown so far): 

-The game's plot line is a (direct?) continuation of the first Pokemon Black and White games.

-The game will be set in a new starting point in Hiogi City, and you'll be able to play as one of two new protagonists.

-Gyms will receive complete overhauls, and some Gym Leaders are being replaced by new trainers.

-The game will boast the Pokedex count to 150 Pokemon from past Gens.

-The games are slated for a June 23 release in Japan, and will arrive in North America and Europe this fall.

Stay tuned for much more news on these games as we head into Summer, right here on Nintendo 5-Star!

Pokemon Black and White 2 Trailer revealed + new info!